Hypercarotenemia
A 23-year-old woman who was admitted for jaundice was found to have yellow-orange discoloration of her skin (her hand is shown on the right, and the hand of a subject without hypercarotenemia is shown on the left). Her sclerae were not discolored. The serum bilirubin level was normal. High-performance liquid chromatography showed a marked increase in serum beta carotene levels. The patient was a vegetarian and had been eating a low-calorie diet with a high content of orange juice, pumpkin, and carrots. Other causes of hypercarotenemia, such as hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, and porphyria, were excluded. Antonino Mazzone, M.D. Antonio Dal Canton, M.D. University Policlinico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy source: nejm.org